ACLU video | Edith 'Edie' Windsor, who sued the U.S. government for not recognizing her marriage

On October 18, 2012, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA) unconstitutionally discriminates against married same-sex couples. The law had been challenged by Edith "Edie" Windsor, who sued the federal government for failing to recognize her marriage to her partner Thea Spyer, after Spyer's death in 2009. Windsor and Spyer, a couple of 44 years, were married in Canada in 2007 and were considered married by their home state of New York.